Toy Manufacturer Website Spreads Crypto-ransomware Through Joomla

Internet users are facing an uphill battle when trying not to get infected with malware and crypto-ransomware these days. The latest source of ransomware infections is Maisto International, a well-known toy maker specializing in remote-controlled toy vehicles.

Maisto International Distributes Crypto-ransomware

Visiting a toy manufacturer website would be the last of concerns for Internet users worried about malware and crypto-ransomware. At the same time, these types of platforms present an excellent opportunity for Internet criminals, as toy manufacturer websites attract a lot of website traffic every day.

As it turns out, Maisto International has been hosting malicious files provided by the Angler exploit kit on their homepage. This attack vector was made possible due to the manufacturer using an outdated version of the Joomla CMS, and the attack code exploiting various vulnerabilities in modern applications ranging from Silverlight to Adobe Flash and Java.

Visiting the Maisto International homepage would put users at risk of getting infected with CryptXXX, one of the latest strains of crypto-ransomware. Computer users who did not have the latest security updates installed on their computer would risk getting infected with the malware, and they would have to pay a fee in Bitcoin to restore file access. However, Kaspersky Labs recently unveiled a solution to regain control over the computer without paying the fee.

For the time being, it remains unclear as to whether or not Maisto International has upgraded their Joomla version by now. Content management systems are the bread and butter of just about any website these days, and installing updates as soon as they are released should be at the top of the priority list. Unfortunately, that is not the case for most website owners these days.

This news is quite disconcerting, especially when considering how various ad networks had started spreading crypto-ransomware and malware little over a month ago. With so many different websites and servers being vulnerable all over the world, these threats will continue for the coming months unless companies step up their security.

What are your thoughts on toy manufacturers such as Maisto International inadvertently spreading crypto-ransomware? Let us know in the comments below!